Why are there different types of waves in other regions of the Earth? The Moon is the main driving force behind the waves on Earth.
The Sun is 27 million times the mass of the Moon, but at the same time, it is 400 times farther from our planet, so it is only a secondary factor.
A nearby satellite and a distant star form invisible intertwined gravitational fields that create a gravity gradient around the Earth and attract elements of the planet’s surface.
Lunar attraction affects both the side of the globe facing the satellite and the part of the planet hidden. This force acts along the same line but in opposite directions. It is the same with the Sun.
Since the Moon revolves around our planet, the position of a natural satellite relative to the Earth and the Sun continuously changes during the lunar cycle, consisting of 29.5 days.
Since the Earth / Moon binary system revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit, the planet/satellite/star ternary system changes continuously throughout the year.
This movement of celestial bodies and the gravitational reaction turn into daily, monthly, and annual tidal fluctuations, which we observe. It explains the second most common type of ebb and flow – mixed ebb and flow.
These tides are characterized by two different highs and two unequal lows per day.
To understand the nature of the other two types of waves, we must include several additional elements in the system.
For some regions of the world, the relative position of the Moon and the Sun planes, created by the orbital tilt, is almost sufficient to equalize the external influence on both sides of the planet.
As a result, the two high tides are about the same size and low tide twice a day every day. This tide pattern is called semi-diurnal.
The Earth’s surface (land) is a great place to live, but it complicates the tidal mechanism significantly, especially when land is in the form of continents.
The resulting delays and convergence of ocean waters can amplify tidal fluctuations forty-fold in extreme cases.
When the restrictions imposed by the presence of continents on the path of water are combined with the inclination of the Moon’s orbit toward Earth, some coastlines may only observe one high tide and one low tide per day.
This phenomenon is called diurnal tide. They are the least common type of hot flashes.
